Case Reports

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed 10 grounds of appeal following the manslaughter of a three-year-old boy. The court rejected arguments that photos of the crime scene prejudiced the applicant, and noted that the applicant’s past convictions for domestic violence were relev

The Court of Appeal has held that a private generator of electricity was not a public authority within the meaning of environmental regulations and was therefore not required to provide information relating to its wind farm. The information was sought by Right To Know CLG, which operated for the pur

Northern Ireland's Coroner’s Court has found that a rubber baton round which killed Stephen Geddis, “an innocent child”, in 1975 was neither necessary nor justified in the circumstances. The danger posed by the use of this weapon near children had not been made apparent to the sold

The High Court has approved a settlement of €350,000 for a man who claimed to have been sexually abused while attending a secondary school operated by a religious order. It was held that the settlement was "excellent" in circumstances where the plaintiff faced substantial difficulties proving h

The High Court has admitted a man suffering from bipolar affective disorder to wardship despite conflicting medical evidence on his capacity. The man was being kept in a residential placement but had acted in a violent and sexually inappropriate manner with staff while having a poor record of taking

The Court of Appeal has significantly reduced an award of damages for a man who suffered multiple injuries in an accident that was described as “the stuff of nightmares”. The man had been injured in an elevator which had fallen three floors after a cable snapped. On appeal, Mr Justice Se

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused judicial review to an applicant who was charged under terrorism legislation in 2020. The court found that the applicant’s attempts to rely on the royal prerogative of mercy to reduce his time in prison was based on a flawed interpretation of the

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused an application for judicial review where a police constable argued that any misconduct that he committed in previous employment should not have come under the scrutiny of the PSNI or its code of ethics. The court found that the code applied to any serv

The High Court has refused an application by the Medical Council to suspend a doctor from the register pending the resolution of a fitness to practise inquiry. The doctor had previously been convicted for drunk driving and other driving offences and banned from driving for 10 years. Despite providin

The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed a discrimination claim brought by an Irish man who was disqualified from receiving a State pension while he served a prison sentence in the State. The claim was based on Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights and concerned the operation

Northern Ireland’s High Court has, for the second time, declared that the Northern Ireland Executive is failing in its duty to enhance and protect the development of the Irish language. There has been inaction on this point since the provisions were introduced in 2007. In this judicial review

Northern Ireland's High Court has rejected the most recent claim in a long-running dispute, relating to custody of a 10-year-old boy. The court found that the father had an "inability to prioritise his son’s welfare over his own obsession", and his claims that video call contact was “ter

A doctor who was suspended from the UK medical register after being arrested as part of a terrorism investigation has lost an appeal to Scotland's Inner House of the Court of Session against a decision of the General Medical Council to extend his suspension until April 2023. Reclaimer IB, who had be

Northern Ireland’s High Court has approved the variation of a last will where it found that the new provisions were of benefit to the deceased's children. The court noted that it would be beneficial for the children to receive a lump sum at the age of 25, especially where the trust would make

A Northern Ireland Crown Court, sitting at Laganside Courthouse, determined that a murderer must wait 20 years before being eligible for parole. This was based on the defendant’s lies regarding how his girlfriend had died, and the general lack of remorse shown by the defendant.